JP3924929B2 - Vehicle communication roadside equipment and toll collection system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a communication unit that includes a communication unit that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle that passes a predetermined communication area, and that identifies the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle based on a communication result of the communication unit. In addition, the present invention relates to a toll collection system using such a vehicle road unit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, automatic toll collection systems for toll roads are being realized. This automatic toll collection system is equipped with an in-vehicle device on a vehicle traveling on a toll road, reads an identification number from the in-vehicle device when the vehicle passes through the toll gate, and identifies the owner of the in-vehicle device based on the identification number Then, the toll is collected from an account provided in advance. In this case, since it is assumed that an unauthorized vehicle not equipped with an in-vehicle device passes, the vehicle that passes through the communication area is photographed with a video camera, and the communication means is provided even though the vehicle passes through the communication area. When communication with the in-vehicle device is not possible, it is determined that the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle, and evidence of the unauthorized vehicle is taken based on the video captured by the video camera.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
FIG. 23 shows an example of this type of automatic fee collection system. In FIG. 23, a lane controller 1 is provided corresponding to one lane provided in the toll booth, and an antenna controller 2, a vehicle detector 3, a vehicle type discriminator 4, a video corresponding to the lane controller 1 are provided. A camera 5 and the like are provided. In this case, when the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detector 3, the vehicle is photographed by the video camera 5 and the antenna controller 2 is driven to communicate with the vehicle-mounted device through the antenna 6. And when the antenna controller 2 acquires the data of onboard equipment, it outputs the data to the toll gate computer 7 through the lane controller 1. The vehicle type discriminator 4 is used to determine whether the in-vehicle device is mounted on a regular vehicle. The type of vehicle that passes through the communication area of the antenna (small passenger car, large passenger car, bus, large freight car, etc. ) And output to the toll gate computer 7 through the lane controller 1.
[0004]
The toll gate computer 7 specifies the owner of the vehicle-mounted device based on the data acquired from the lane controller 1 and charges a toll, and the vehicle type specified by the vehicle type discriminator 4 and the vehicle type information acquired from the vehicle-mounted device are one. If not, it is determined that the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle, and an image taken by the video camera 5 is stored as evidence of the unauthorized vehicle.
[0005]
By the way, in the thing shown in FIG. 23, since the antenna controller 2, the vehicle detector 3, and the vehicle type discriminator 4 are comprised by the independent apparatus, the vehicle which passes a communication area | region based on the mutual positional relationship of each apparatus, and The setting for associating the correspondence with the in-vehicle device is complicated. For this reason, when vehicles pass through the communication area one by one, there is no problem, but for example, two vehicles are located in the communication area, one vehicle is mounted with an in-vehicle device, and the other vehicle is mounted on the vehicle. When the machine is not installed, it is difficult to specify which vehicle is equipped with the vehicle-mounted machine. In such a case, there is no choice but to make a determination based on an image taken by the video camera 5, which is very troublesome and has low reliability.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle communication roadside device and a toll collection system capable of associating the correspondence relationship between a vehicle passing through a communication area and an in-vehicle device. It is in.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle enters the communication area of the communication means, the in-vehicle device position determining means determines the in-vehicle device position mounted on the vehicle. The communication means communicates when the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle enters the communication area.
[0008]
Here, when the vehicle-mounted device is mounted on the vehicle, the timing at which the vehicle-mounted device mounted at the vehicle-mounted device position determined by the vehicle-mounted device position determining unit and the communication unit can communicate with each other, and the communication unit is actually connected to the vehicle-mounted device. Therefore, the on-vehicle device specifying means can reliably associate the correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the on-vehicle device.
[0009]
here When the vehicle-mounted device is mounted on the vehicle, the timing at which the vehicle-mounted device mounted at the vehicle-mounted device position determined by the vehicle-mounted device position determination unit can communicate with the communication unit, and the communication unit actually communicates with the vehicle-mounted device. The time difference should be within a predetermined time, so the timing when the vehicle-mounted device position determination means detects the vehicle-mounted device position and the timing when the communication means actually communicates with the vehicle-mounted device. If it is within the predetermined time, it can be determined that the vehicle-mounted device communicated by the communication device is mounted on the vehicle that is determined by the vehicle-mounted device position determining device.
[0010]
in this case As the vehicle speed decreases, the time difference between the timing at which the in-vehicle device position determination means detects the in-vehicle device mounting position and the timing at which the communication means actually communicates with the in-vehicle device increases. Since the predetermined time is extended as the speed is low, the correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the vehicle-mounted device can be reliably associated.
[0011]
Claim 2 According to the invention, since the vehicle-mounted device position determining means optically forms a detection region that substantially overlaps the communication region of the communication device in three dimensions, the timing when the vehicle-mounted device position determining device determines the position of the vehicle-mounted device. And the timing at which the communication means communicates with the in-vehicle device can be made substantially coincident.
[0012]
Therefore, the vehicle-mounted device specifying unit determines that the timing at which the vehicle-mounted device position determining unit determines the vehicle-mounted device mounting position of the vehicle is a timing at which the communication unit can communicate, so that the vehicle-mounted device position determining unit is mounted on the vehicle. When the communication means can communicate with the in-vehicle device at a timing substantially coincident with the timing at which the device mounting position is detected, the in-vehicle device in which the communication means communicates is mounted on the vehicle that is determined by the in-vehicle device position determination means. Judgment can be made.
[0013]
Claim 3 According to the invention, the vehicle-mounted device position determination means optically forms a detection region by scanning the laser beam, and the vehicle-mounted device is based on the delay time from when the laser beam is irradiated until the reflected light returns. Since the mounting position is determined, the on-vehicle device mounting position of the vehicle can be accurately determined using a known technique.
[0014]
Claim 4 According to the invention described above, in the above invention, when a plurality of vehicles approach the communication area of the communication means, the in-vehicle device position determination means may not be able to determine the in-vehicle device mounting position. The vehicle type discriminating unit determines the vehicle type and positional relationship of the vehicle passing through the communication area, and the communication unit stores a communication history with the in-vehicle device.
[0015]
Therefore, since the correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the vehicle-mounted device can be associated by associating the determination result of the vehicle type determination device with the communication history of the communication device, the vehicle-mounted device specifying device determines the relationship between the vehicle and the vehicle-mounted device from those relationships. Corresponding relationships can be reliably associated.
[0016]
Claim 5 According to the present invention, when the vehicle-mounted device is not mounted on the vehicle, the vehicle-mounted device specifying means cannot associate the correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the vehicle-mounted device. Can be determined to be an unauthorized vehicle.
[0017]
Claim 6 According to the invention, although the vehicle-mounted device is mounted on the vehicle, when the vehicle type information stored in the vehicle-mounted device is different from the actual vehicle type, it can be determined that the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle. The unauthorized processing means can determine that the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle if the vehicle type information acquired by the communication means from the in-vehicle device does not match the vehicle type determined by the vehicle type determining means.
[0018]
Claim 7 According to the invention, since the mounting position of the vehicle-mounted device is set inside the windshield of the vehicle, the vehicle-mounted device position determining means determines whether the vehicle windshield position is the vehicle-mounted device mounting position. The machine mounting position can be detected reliably.
[0019]
Claim 8 According to the present invention, by executing each unit with one microcomputer, it is not necessary to achieve consistency for communication between the respective devices as compared with the case where each unit is configured as an individual device. At the same time, the time and processing required for communication can be reduced.
[0020]
Claim 9 According to the invention, since the owner of the vehicle-mounted device can be accurately specified by the vehicle on-road device having the above-described configuration, the toll can be reliably collected from the user.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing communication units arranged in a lane provided in a toll gate. In FIG. 1, a communication unit 13 is provided in a gantry 12 arranged so as to straddle a lane 11. The communication unit 13 is for charging the toll by specifying the owner of the vehicle-mounted device by communicating with the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle 14 passing through the lane 11. Is set so as to set the communication area S. The vehicle 14 to be communicated passes through the lane 11 in the direction of the arrow A, and the lane 11 is set to have a width enough to allow one vehicle 14 except a single vehicle to pass.
[0022]
Here, the communication unit 13 has a function of determining the type of vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle type), and therefore detection areas X and Y are set for the communication area S. This detection area X is set to substantially coincide with the vertical direction in the communication area S by scanning the laser beam in the vertical direction along the traveling direction A of the vehicle 14, and the detection area Y is orthogonal to the traveling direction A of the vehicle 14. By scanning the laser beam in the horizontal direction, it is set so as to substantially coincide with the horizontal direction of the rear end portion in the communication region S (see FIGS. 2 and 3). In this case, the vertical scanning and the horizontal scanning of the laser light are alternately performed for each scanning.
[0023]
In addition, a video camera 15 is installed on the road side, and takes a picture of a license plate (also a driver if necessary) of the vehicle 14 passing through the communication area S.
[0024]
Next, the configuration of the communication unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the communication unit 13 includes a vehicle type discriminating device 16 and a communication device 17, and each of the devices 16 and 17 has a control unit 18 (communication means, vehicle-mounted device) mainly composed of one microcomputer. It is controlled by position determination means, vehicle equipment identification means, vehicle type discrimination means, and fraud processing means).
[0025]
Here, the vehicle type discriminating apparatus 16 shown in FIG. 4 shows a configuration for scanning the laser beam in the detection region X in the vertical direction, for example, and a configuration for scanning the laser beam in the horizontal direction in the detection region Y is a scanning. Since the configuration is the same except for the direction, it is omitted for the sake of simplicity.
[0026]
The distance measuring unit 16a intermittently outputs laser light from a laser diode (not shown), and receives the reflected light reflected from the object by the output pulsed laser light, whereby the output timing of the pulsed laser light and the reflected light The distance to the object is obtained from the time difference from the light reception timing based on the delay time.
[0027]
The optical path of the laser beam output from the distance measuring unit 16a is changed so that the detection region X is irradiated by the reflecting surface of the polygon mirror 16b and the angle adjusting mirror 16c. The polygon mirror 16b is rotated at a high speed by a drive motor (not shown). In the rotated state, the laser beam is scanned and reflected by the angle adjusting mirror 16c, so that the pulse laser beam scans the detection region X. It has come to be.
[0028]
The control unit 18 controls the scanning of the pulse laser beam by controlling the rotation of the polygon mirror driving motor described above, and inputs the distance detection signal detected by the distance measuring unit 16a, and the vehicle type discrimination process as will be described later. Is to do. That is, the shape of the vehicle is determined on the basis of a change in the distance to the object by scanning the detection region X and the detection region Y of the pulse laser beam.
[0029]
On the other hand, the communication device 17 transmits a microwave to the communication area S by giving a transmission signal given from the control section 18 to the planar antenna 17b through the RF section 17a. When passing the vehicle, the ID code and various data registered in the vehicle-mounted device are exchanged, and the fee collection data for passing through the expressway is exchanged. At this time, the control unit 18 confirms whether or not the vehicle type data registered in the in-vehicle device matches the actual vehicle type determined by the vehicle type determination device 16. In other words, since the in-vehicle device can be removed, if the in-vehicle device registered on a low-toll vehicle type is mounted on a high-traffic vehicle and travels on the expressway, the toll fee that can be collected is higher than the actual toll fee Even if the communication device 17 collects a toll based on the collected data acquired from the vehicle-mounted device, it is illegal if the vehicle type data does not match the vehicle type determined by the vehicle type determination device 16. The vehicle is determined.
The in-vehicle device can be purchased by providing an account in the bank, and the owner of the in-vehicle device can be specified based on the ID code stored in the in-vehicle device.
[0030]
Here, in addition to the function of determining the vehicle type that has entered the communication region S based on the distance information from the distance measuring unit 16a, the control unit 18 is mounted on the vehicle 14 located in the detection regions X and Y. The function to detect the mounting position of is added. In other words, since the in-vehicle device is provided inside the windshield of the vehicle so that communication with the communication device 17 is possible, the vehicle type (small passenger car, large passenger car, bus, large freight vehicle, etc.) is determined. By doing so, it becomes possible to determine the position of the windshield, and thus the position of the vehicle-mounted device. In this case, the control part 18 detects a windshield position by extracting the feature point of a vehicle so that it may mention later.
[0031]
In addition, when the time difference between the timing at which the vehicle type determination device 16 detects the onboard device mounting position and the timing at which the communication device 17 communicates with the onboard device is within a predetermined time, the control unit 18 determines that the vehicle type determination device 16 It is determined that the vehicle-mounted device communicated by the communication device 17 is mounted on the vehicle, and the determination result is output through the external I / F 17c.
[0032]
In the communication unit 13, the light exit of the vehicle type discriminating device 16 and the planar antenna 17b of the communication device 17 are set at close positions, and the communication area S of the planar antenna 17b and the detection area X, Y is set so as to substantially overlap Y, and the laser beam emitted from the vehicle type discrimination device 16 has high directivity, and the microwave transmitted from the planar antenna 17b of the communication device 17 also has high directivity. The communication area of the device 17 and the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type discrimination device 16 are substantially overlapped in three dimensions. In such a configuration, the timing at which the vehicle type discriminating device 16 detects the position of the windshield of the vehicle and the timing at which the communication device 17 communicates with the vehicle-mounted device installed inside the windshield of the vehicle 14 are set to substantially coincide. Will be.
[0033]
FIG. 5 schematically shows the overall configuration. In FIG. 5, when the control unit 18 of the communication unit 13 determines that the vehicle has entered the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type identification device 16, the control unit 18 drives the video camera 15, and the vehicle moves from the detection areas X and Y. When it is determined that the vehicle has left, the video camera 15 is stopped, and when it is determined that the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle, the captured image is stored.
[0034]
Further, the control unit 18 outputs vehicle-mounted device specifying information and fraud information to the toll booth computer 20 through the lane controller 19. The toll gate computer 20 charges the toll of the toll road to the owner of the in-vehicle device based on the in-vehicle device identification information from the lane controller 19 and informs the person in charge of the occurrence of the unauthorized vehicle based on the injustice information. To do.
[0035]
Next, the vehicle type determination operation by the vehicle type determination device 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.
6 and 7 show the basic operation of the vehicle type discriminating device 16 of the communication unit 13 and the distance detection process. FIG. 6A shows a temporal change in the scanning angle of the laser beam scanned by the polygon mirror 16b, and FIG. 6B shows the output timing of the pulsed laser beam. FIGS. 3C and 3D show the output timing of the pulse laser beam and the light reception signal by expanding the time axis.
[0036]
First, the distance measuring unit 16a outputs a pulsed laser beam by turning on a laser diode (not shown). At this time, the pulse width of the pulse laser beam is tw, and the delay time from when the reflected light is received by the distance measuring unit 16c to be output as a light reception signal is td.
[0037]
In this case, the delay time td and the speed of light c (= 3 × 10 ⁸ m / sec) is the optical path length from when the pulse laser beam is emitted from the distance measuring unit 16a to reach the object and the reflected light reaches the distance measuring unit 16a, and the distance to the object Since the distance 2d is equal to the distance 2d that is twice the distance d, the distance measuring unit 16a can obtain the distance d to the object as the distance detection information from an arithmetic expression d (= (c × td) / 2).
Then, information on the detection distance d in the detection regions X and Y obtained as described above is sequentially input to the control unit 18.
[0038]
The scanning period Tp of the laser beam and the scanning time Ts (see FIG. 6A) during which the laser beam is actually scanned are determined by the rotational speed of the polygon mirror 16b. The detection resolution is set according to the time Ts.
[0039]
Thereby, for example, by scanning the pulse laser beam in the detection region X in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 7A, detection distance information of the shape along the traveling direction of the vehicle 14 is obtained, and the laser beam is By scanning the detection area Y in the horizontal direction, the detection distance information having a shape along the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 14 can be obtained as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, obtaining the detection distance information by scanning the laser beam in the detection area X in this way is abbreviated as “vertical line measurement”, and obtaining the detection distance information by scanning the laser light in the detection area Y in the horizontal direction. This is abbreviated as “lateral line measurement”.
[0040]
In the above-described configuration, in the horizontal line measurement, it is possible to obtain data obtained by measuring the distance of the entire shape of the vehicle 14 in accordance with the scanning cycle of the vehicle 14 passing through the lane 11. However, in the vertical line measurement, only the data obtained by measuring the shape of the portion passing through the central portion of the lane 11 with respect to the vehicle 14 passing through the lane 11 is obtained.
[0041]
Next, the processing contents when the control unit 18 performs the vehicle type determination process of the vehicle 14 will be described according to the flowchart of the vehicle type determination program shown in FIG. Here, since the control unit 18 functions as a vehicle type determination unit when executing the vehicle type determination program, the control unit 18 is referred to as a vehicle type determination unit 18a. Further, when the control unit 18 operates as the vehicle type determination unit 18a, the control unit 18 also operates as an in-vehicle unit position determination unit.
[0042]
The vehicle type discriminating means 18a first determines whether or not the vehicle 14 exists in the detection areas X and Y by alternately performing vertical line measurement and horizontal line measurement (S101, S102) (S103). Steps S101 to S103 are repeated until the presence condition is satisfied.
[0043]
When the vehicle enters the laser light scanning region, the vehicle type determination unit 18a determines that the vehicle is present (S103: YES), and detects each of them from the detection distance information obtained by the vertical line measurement and the horizontal line measurement. The outer shapes L1 and L2 (see FIG. 7) obtained by connecting the positions corresponding to the distance d are obtained, and the feature point P (in FIG. 7) is data that characterizes the shape from the obtained approximate outer shape. In this case, (indicated by “.”) Is extracted (S104).
[0044]
Next, the vehicle type discriminating means 18a repeats the vertical line measurement and the horizontal line measurement (S105, S106), and while the vehicle continues to exist in the detection areas X, Y (S107: YES), the feature point The extraction of P is continued (S108), whereby the position of the feature point P can be obtained from the outer shape as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b). In this case, in the illustrated detection distance information, it seems that it is difficult to extract the feature point P because the measurement interval is wide, but in practice, the detection point setting interval is set to be further narrowed. Point P can be determined. In the initial state where the vehicle has entered the detection area X, the vehicle is not located in the detection area Y, so that the feature point P can be obtained only from the vertical line measurement data.
Then, by comparing the position of the feature point P obtained at this time with the position of the feature point P obtained at the previous measurement time, they are associated (S109).
Now, the vehicle type discrimination | determination means 18a determines the windshield position of a vehicle by the correlation of such a feature point P (S110). This is to determine the onboard mounting position by determining the windshield position as will be described later. If the vehicle is a one-box type or bus or freight vehicle without a bonnet, the windshield is placed on the front of the vehicle. If the vehicle is a two-box type (or 1.5 box), it can be determined that the windshield is located at the rear end of the bonnet.
[0045]
Thereafter, the movement distance between the feature points P that can be associated is obtained (see FIG. 9), and the movement speed between them is calculated (S111), and subsequently the vehicle height is measured from the information on the outer shape. At the same time (S112), the vehicle length is measured (S113). In this case, if the entire vehicle 14 cannot be covered by a single scan, the vehicle length cannot be measured, but the information for measuring the vehicle length is associated by associating the feature point P. Can do.
[0046]
When the vehicle exits from the detection areas X and Y, the vehicle type discriminating means 18a determines that there is no vehicle when the vertical line measurement and the horizontal line measurement are performed (S105, S106) (S107: NO). Is completed, and the vehicle type of the passing vehicle 14 is determined based on the data obtained so far (S114). That is, the vehicle type (small passenger car, large passenger car, bus, freight vehicle, etc.) is determined from the length and height of the vehicle. In this case, in determining the vehicle type, the total vehicle length of the vehicle 14 can be substantially specified by the data of the vertical line measurement. For example, when a trailer connected via a coupler passes, If the connector part cannot be detected only by measurement, it may be determined as another vehicle, but in such a case, by performing the horizontal line measurement, the presence of the connector part can be detected. Accurate vehicle type discrimination processing can be performed.
[0047]
10 and 11 show data measured when the vehicle 14 passes through the detection regions X and Y. When the vehicle 14 travels at a higher speed in the case shown in FIG. 10 than in the case shown in FIG. The obtained measurement data is shown. That is, when the vehicle 14 passes through the detection areas X and Y at a certain speed, the horizontal line measurement and the vertical line measurement are performed, so that the time as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B elapses. The accompanying data can be synthesized. From the horizontal line measurement data, a change in the outer shape in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 14 with the passage of time is obtained, and from the vertical line measurement data, a change in the outer shape of the vehicle 14 in the traveling direction with the passage of time is obtained. .
[0048]
On the other hand, when the vehicle 14 passes through the detection areas X and Y at a slower speed than the state of FIG. 10, the moving distance of the vehicle 14 per scan is short, and as shown in FIG. From the horizontal line measurement data, it can be seen that the vehicle length is long, and from the vertical line measurement data, the moving distance is short. Accordingly, the vehicle length of the vehicle 14 can be measured from the vertical line measurement data, and data in the width direction of the vehicle 14 can be obtained from the horizontal line measurement data, so that accurate vehicle type discrimination can be performed.
[0049]
In the case of FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 described above, it is assumed that the speed of the vehicle 14 passing through the detection regions X and Y of the vehicle type identification device 16 is constant. For example, when the vehicle 14 passes under the communication unit 13 just as the brake is applied, the lateral line measurement data continues to measure the vehicle width direction of the stopped vehicle 14. Data as shown in (a) is obtained. Even in such a case, the vertical line measurement data can detect that there is no movement for each scan along the traveling direction as shown in FIG. It can be done.
[0050]
By the way, the control unit 18 of the communication unit 13 is configured to execute operations as a photographing unit, a communication unit, a vehicle-mounted device specifying unit, and an unauthorized processing unit in addition to the operation of the vehicle type determination unit described above. The control unit 18 is referred to as the photographing unit 18b, the communication unit 18c, the in-vehicle device specifying unit 18d, and the unauthorized processing unit 18e in accordance with the operation executed by the control unit 18. Note that these operations are for processing one specific vehicle 14 located in the communication area S. When a plurality of vehicles 14 are located in the communication area S, each operation is performed on the vehicle 14. It is designed to execute in parallel for the number of units.
[0051]
FIG. 13 shows the operation of the photographing means 18b. In FIG. 13, when the vehicle type discriminating means 8 detects the entry of the vehicle 14 (S201: YES), the photographing means 18b instructs the video camera 15 to take a picture (S202). Thereby, the front part of the vehicle 14, that is, the license plate (driver if necessary) is photographed by the video camera 15.
When the vehicle type discriminating means 8 detects the exit of the vehicle 14 (S203: YES), it commands the end of shooting (S204).
With the above operation, the license plate of the vehicle 14 passing through the communication area S of the communication device 17 is photographed.
[0052]
FIG. 14 shows the operation of the in-vehicle device specifying means 18d. In FIG. 14, the in-vehicle device specifying unit 18d corrects a predetermined time, which will be described later, based on the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle type determining unit 18 as the vehicle speed decreases (S301).
[0053]
Subsequently, until the vehicle type discriminating means 8 detects the exit of the vehicle 14 (S304), whether the vehicle type discriminating means 18 detects the in-vehicle device mounting position (S302), or has the communication means 18c been able to communicate with the in-vehicle device? Is determined (S303). In this case, since the in-vehicle device is installed inside the windshield, it can be determined that the on-vehicle device mounting position is detected by the vehicle type discriminating means 18 detecting the windshield position.
[0054]
Here, the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type discriminating device 16 and the communication area S of the communication device 17 are set so as to substantially match three-dimensionally, and the laser beam and the microwave have high directivity. Although the timing at which the vehicle type discriminating means 18 detects the on-vehicle device mounting position and the timing at which the communication means 18c communicates with the on-vehicle device are substantially the same timing, the communication between the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type discriminating device 16 and the communication device 17 Due to the shift of the region S, one of the timings is advanced, and the time difference falls within a predetermined time. That is, when the communication area S of the communication device 17 is set outside the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type discriminating device 16, the communication means 18c communicates with the vehicle-mounted device (S303: YES), and then a predetermined time. The vehicle type discriminating means 18 determines the in-vehicle device mounting position (S308: YES). Further, when the communication area S of the communication device 17 is set inside the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type discriminating device 16, it is determined that the vehicle type discriminating means 18 is the in-vehicle device mounting position (S302: YES), the communication means 18c communicates with the vehicle-mounted device within a predetermined time (S305: YES).
[0055]
Therefore, when the time difference between the timing at which the vehicle type determination unit 18 determines the onboard unit mounting position and the timing at which the communication unit 18c communicates with the onboard unit is within a predetermined time, the vehicle type determination unit 18 determines the onboard unit mounting position. It can be specified that the vehicle-mounted device communicated by the communication means 18c is mounted on the vehicle 14 (S306). The predetermined time is set based on the distance between the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type identification device 16 and the communication area S of the communication device 17 and the passing speed (initial setting value) of the vehicle 14. In this case, as the speed of the vehicle 14 is slower, the time difference between the timing at which the vehicle type discriminating means 18 detects the on-vehicle device mounting position and the timing at which the communication means 18c communicates with the on-vehicle device increases. Since the correction is made so that the predetermined time is extended as the vehicle speed determined by the vehicle type determination unit becomes slower as described above (S301), the correspondence relationship between the vehicle 14 and the in-vehicle device can be reliably associated.
[0056]
Then, when the in-vehicle device specifying unit 18d associates the correspondence relationship between the vehicle 14 and the in-vehicle device as described above, the in-vehicle device specifying unit 18d outputs the information to the toll gate computer 20 through the lane controller 19 (S307). Thereby, the toll booth computer 20 can charge the toll by specifying the owner of the in-vehicle device.
[0057]
FIG. 15 shows the operation of the communication means 18c. In FIG. 15, when the vehicle type discriminating unit 18 detects the entry of the vehicle 14 (S401: YES), the communication unit 18c executes communication with the in-vehicle device by the communication device 17 (S402). At this time, since the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle 14 has not yet entered the communication area, the communication unit 18c does not communicate with the in-vehicle device.
[0058]
When the vehicle 14 travels and the windshield mounted on the vehicle 14 and thus the in-vehicle device enters the communication area S of the communication device 17, the communication means 18c can communicate with the in-vehicle device (S403: YES), A communication history indicating the communication timing time is stored (S406). In such communication, an ID code registered in the in-vehicle device, various data, and fee collection data when traveling on a highway are exchanged. And when the vehicle type discrimination | determination means 18 detects the leaving of the vehicle 14 (S404: YES), communication will be stopped (S405).
[0059]
FIG. 16 shows the operation of the fraud processing means 18e. In FIG. 16, when the vehicle type determination unit 18 finishes the vehicle type determination (S501: YES), the fraud processing unit 18e determines whether the toll has been charged for the vehicle 14 (S502). In this case, when the vehicle 14 whose vehicle type has been determined is a vehicle 14 for which a toll has been charged (S502: YES), it is determined whether the vehicle type information matches (S503). That is, the communication unit 18c determines whether the vehicle type information acquired from the in-vehicle device and the vehicle type determination result of the vehicle type determination unit match. If they match (S503: YES), the communication unit 18c determines that the charging process has been correctly performed, and the imaging unit. The captured image captured by 18b is erased (S504). If they do not match (S503: NO), it is determined that the unauthorized vehicle is not charged correctly, the captured image is saved (S511), and the unauthorized information is output to the toll gate computer 20 through the lane controller 19 (S512). ). As a result, the person in charge at the toll gate can confirm that the unauthorized vehicle has occurred and identify the unauthorized vehicle based on the stored photographed image.
[0060]
On the other hand, when it is not charged (S502: NO), the on-vehicle device mounting position is determined based on the vehicle type and positional relationship of the vehicle 14 determined by the vehicle type determination means 18, and the on-vehicle device is mounted at the on-vehicle device mounting position. If the communication means 18c is ready to communicate (S505), the communication history of the communication means 18c is checked (S506). If communication is performed at the communication ready timing (S507: YES) ) After the vehicle type determination means confirms that the vehicle type determined by 18 matches the vehicle equipment information (S508: YES), the correspondence relationship between the vehicle 14 and the vehicle equipment is associated (S508), and the lane controller The in-vehicle device information is output to the charge computer 20 through 19 (S509). Thereby, it can charge with respect to the owner of vehicle equipment.
[0061]
When the control unit 18 performs the operations of the above means in parallel, it is possible to reliably associate the correspondence relationship between all the vehicles 14 located in the communication area S and the in-vehicle devices. The specific operation will be described below.
[0062]
FIG. 17 shows an example in which two vehicles 14 equipped with the vehicle-mounted device 21 enter the communication area S, and FIG. 18 shows a timing chart of the operation at that time. In this example, since the communication means 18c can communicate with the vehicle-mounted devices 21a and 21b mounted in the vehicles 14a and 14b at the same timing as the timing when the vehicle type determining device 18 detects the windshield position (vehicle-mounted device mounting position), The in-vehicle device specifying unit 18d can process each vehicle based on the operation timing of the vehicle type determining unit 18 and the communication unit 18c. Therefore, it is easy to identify an unauthorized vehicle, and it is possible to reliably charge the toll to the owner of the vehicle-mounted devices 21a and 21b.
[0063]
FIG. 19 shows an example in which the in-vehicle device is not mounted in the first vehicle 14 that has entered the communication area S, and the in-vehicle device is mounted in the second vehicle 14.
As shown in FIG. 19 (a), when the first vehicle 14a not equipped with the vehicle-mounted device enters the detection region X, the vehicle type discriminating means 18 detects the position of the windshield of the vehicle, but the communication means 18c communicates. Since this is not possible (see FIG. 19B), this vehicle is determined to be an unauthorized vehicle.
[0064]
In this state, when the second vehicle 14b equipped with the in-vehicle device 21b enters the detection area X, as shown in FIG. 19C, when the vehicle type discriminating means 18 determines the in-vehicle device mounting position, at substantially the same timing. Since the communication means 18c communicates with the vehicle-mounted device 21b, the vehicle-mounted device specifying means 18d can determine that the vehicle-mounted device 21b with which the communication means 18c can communicate is mounted on the second vehicle 14b.
[0065]
FIG. 20 shows a timing chart of the operation in FIG. As shown in FIG. 20, although the communication means 18c cannot communicate with the onboard device 21a mounted on the vehicle 14a at the timing when the vehicle type determination means 18 detects the onboard device mounting position of the first vehicle 14a, the vehicle type determination is performed. The communication means 18c can communicate with the in-vehicle device 21b at the timing when the means 18 detects the in-vehicle device mounting position of the second vehicle 14b. In this case, in the configuration in which the on-vehicle device mounting position of the vehicle 14 is not detected, the first vehicle 14a that does not include the on-vehicle device 21b is mounted on the second vehicle 14 before leaving the communication area S. In the present embodiment, the position of the vehicle 14 in the detection region X is always determined although it can be determined that the first vehicle 14a is mounted with the vehicle-mounted device 21b. Since it knows and also knows the shape of the vehicle 14, it is possible to determine whether the in-vehicle device 21 has entered the communication area S by specifying the in-vehicle device mounting position. Therefore, even when the first vehicle 14a is not equipped with an in-vehicle device and the second vehicle 14b enters the communication area S and communicates, the second vehicle 14b is detected. Since it is known that communication with the first vehicle 14a has failed, the correspondence relationship between the second vehicle 14b and the in-vehicle device 21b can be reliably associated.
[0066]
FIG. 21 illustrates an example in which two small vehicles 14 equipped with vehicle-mounted devices enter the detection region X in order in the state of approaching a large vehicle, causing a communication order reversal phenomenon.
When the second small vehicle 14b (light vehicle, motorcycle, etc.) enters the detection area X in the state of approaching the first large vehicle 14a as shown in FIG. 21 (a), the second small vehicle Since the windshield 14b is located at the blind spot in the detection area X and the communication area S (area shown by hatching in the figure), the vehicle type discrimination means 18 cannot detect the on-vehicle device mounting position of the second vehicle 14b. At the same time, the communication means 18c cannot communicate with the in-vehicle device 21b mounted on the second vehicle 14b.
[0067]
In this state, when the third vehicle 14c enters the detection region X and the vehicle type discriminating means 18 detects the in-vehicle device mounting position of the vehicle 14c as shown in FIG. Since the communication unit 18c communicates with the in-vehicle device 21c, the in-vehicle device specifying unit 18d can determine that the in-vehicle device 21c communicated with the communication unit 18c is mounted on the third vehicle 14a. However, since the vehicle type discriminating means 18 cannot detect the second small vehicle 14b, the third vehicle 14c is determined to be the second vehicle.
[0068]
When the second small vehicle 14b following the large vehicle 14a is positioned substantially directly below the communication unit 13, the communication unit 13 can face the vehicle-mounted device 21b mounted on the vehicle 14b, as shown in FIG. As shown, the communication means 18c can communicate with the in-vehicle device 21b.
[0069]
However, when the second vehicle 14b follows the large vehicle 14a, the vehicle 14b may pass through without detecting the windshield position of the second vehicle 14b. is there.
[0070]
In such a case, when the second vehicle 14b leaves the detection region X, the vehicle type determination means 18 determines the vehicle type of the first vehicle 14b and the positional relationship between the first and second vehicles 14a and 14b. Therefore, the fraud processing unit 18e determines the onboard unit mounting position of the second vehicle 18b based on the determination result of the vehicle type determination unit 18, and determines the timing at which the communication unit 18c can communicate. Based on the communication history information by the communication means 18c, it is determined whether communication has been performed at that timing. In this case, since the communicable timing exists as information indicated by the communication history, the correspondence relationship between the second vehicle 14b and the in-vehicle device 21b can be reliably associated.
[0071]
FIG. 22 is a timing chart showing the example of FIG. As shown in FIG. 22, when the second vehicle 14b is located in the blind spot of the detection area X and the communication area S for the first vehicle 14a, the second vehicle 14b cannot be detected. Communication is also impossible. And if the 1st vehicle 14a advances and the 2nd vehicle 14b escapes from the blind spot of a communication area | region, the communication means 18c will be able to communicate. In this case, when the third vehicle 14c enters the communication area S, the communication unit 18c communicates with the third vehicle 14c first, but the vehicle type determination unit 18 finally determines. Based on the communication history between the vehicle 14b and the vehicle-mounted device 21b communicated by the communication means 18c, the correspondence between the two can be reliably associated.
[0072]
According to the present embodiment, the control unit 18 of the communication unit 13 controls the vehicle based on the timing at which the vehicle type determination device 16 detects the on-vehicle device mounting position of the vehicle and the timing at which the communication device 17 can communicate with the on-vehicle device 21. Since the correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the in-vehicle device is associated, even if a plurality of vehicles 14 are located in the communication area S, the correspondence relationship between the two can be reliably associated, and the vehicle owner can pass The fee can be collected with certainty.
[0073]
In addition, since the detection areas X and Y of the vehicle type identification device 16 and the communication area S of the communication device 17 are set so as to substantially overlap in three dimensions, the vehicle type identification is performed when the vehicle 14 is mounted on the vehicle 14. The timing at which the windshield position is detected by the device 16 and the timing at which the communication device 17 communicates with the in-vehicle device 21 are substantially the same. Therefore, when both timings substantially coincide with each other, it can be determined that the vehicle-mounted device 21 communicated by the communication device 17 is mounted on the vehicle 14 to be determined by the vehicle type determination device 16. Can be associated with each other.
[0074]
Further, even when the vehicle type discriminating device 16 cannot detect the windshield of the vehicle, the vehicle type mounting position obtained based on the type and positional relationship of each vehicle is obtained based on the vehicle type discriminating result by the vehicle type discriminating device 16. Since it is determined from the communication history information by the communication device 17 whether or not the communication is performed at the timing when the vehicle-mounted device 21 mounted on the vehicle can communicate, the correspondence relationship between the vehicle 14 and the vehicle-mounted device 21 is reliably associated. Can do.
[0075]
Furthermore, since the control unit 18 of the communication unit 13 processes a series of processes with a single microcomputer, real-time processing is possible without performing unnecessary communication as in the conventional example. That is, as an actual process of the control unit 18, a plurality of processes such as a black list search, a charge search, and a vehicle type determination of the in-vehicle device 21 must be performed in a very short time, but can be processed in real time by high-speed processing. . In this case, in the conventional system, since the lane controller determines whether the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle by organizing information from each device, adjustment of communication specifications is complicated when the manufacturer of each device is different. However, in the present embodiment, such a determination of an unauthorized vehicle is collectively processed by the control unit 18 of the communication unit 13, so that such a problem can be prevented from occurring. In addition, since the vehicle detection function is provided based on the detection result of the vehicle type identification device 16, the configuration of the communication unit 13 can be further simplified.
[0076]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
As the antenna, a rod antenna, a loop antenna, or the like may be used instead of the planar antenna.
A galvanometer mirror may be used as means for scanning the laser beam.
As the vehicle type identification device, a transmission type optical sensor sandwiching the lane 11 may be used.
[0077]
Optical communication may be used as the communication device.
The vehicle type discriminating device 16 and the communication device 17 provided in the communication unit 13 may perform processing separately.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a communication area and a detection area of a communication unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a relationship between a communication area and a detection area of the communication unit.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a relationship between a communication area and a detection area of a communication unit.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a communication unit.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an overall schematic configuration
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the output timing of the pulse laser beam and the light reception timing
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a feature extraction principle by vertical line measurement and horizontal line measurement.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a vehicle discrimination operation by the control unit.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the transition of feature points of vertical line measurement data
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing transition of horizontal line measurement data and vertical line measurement data.
11 is equivalent to FIG.
FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a photographing operation by the control unit.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an in-vehicle device specifying operation by the control unit.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a communication operation by the control unit.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an illegal processing operation by the control unit;
FIG. 17 is an operation explanatory diagram showing normal communication operation.
FIG. 18 is a timing chart showing normal communication operation.
FIG. 19 is an operation explanatory diagram showing communication operation with a vehicle not equipped with an in-vehicle device.
FIG. 20 is a timing chart showing communication operation with a vehicle not equipped with an in-vehicle device.
FIG. 21 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an abnormal communication operation.
FIG. 22 is a timing chart showing an abnormal communication operation.
FIG. 23 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration in a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
13 is a communication unit, 16 is a vehicle type identification device, 17 is a communication device, 18 is a control unit (communication means, vehicle-mounted device position determination means, vehicle-mounted device specifying means, vehicle type determination means, fraud processing means), and 21 is a vehicle-mounted device. .

Claims (9)

In a vehicle on-road device for vehicles that includes a communication unit that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle that passes a predetermined communication area, and that identifies the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle based on a communication result of the communication unit,
Vehicle type determination means for determining the vehicle type of the vehicle passing through the communication area of the communication means;
Vehicle- mounted device position determining means for determining the position of the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle based on the vehicle type determined by the vehicle type determining means;
The timing of the in-vehicle-position-determining means and the communication means and the vehicle-mounted device obtained by can communicate, the in-vehicle device position determination based on a time difference between the timing at which the communication unit actually communicates with the vehicle device An in- vehicle device specifying means for specifying whether or not it is communicating with an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle to be determined by the means,
The vehicle device identification means, before Symbol vehicle unit time difference between the timing at which the timing with said communication means that enables communication has actually communicate that communication is the communication means in the case of a predetermined time communication means between the vehicle apparatus A vehicle on-road device for vehicles, wherein the on-vehicle device position determination means determines that the vehicle-mounted device position determination means is mounted on a vehicle to be determined, and extends the predetermined time as the speed of the vehicle decreases. The in-vehicle device position determining means is provided so as to optically form a detection area that substantially overlaps three-dimensionally with the communication area of the communication means,
The on-vehicle device specifying means determines that the timing at which the on-vehicle device position determination means determines the on-vehicle device mounting position is the timing at which the communication means can communicate with the on-vehicle device. Road vehicles for vehicles. The on-vehicle device position determination means optically forms a detection region by scanning laser light, and determines the on-vehicle device mounting position based on a delay time from when the laser light is irradiated until the reflected light returns. The vehicle road unit for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that: The vehicle type determination means also determines the positional relationship in addition to the vehicle type of the vehicle passing through the communication area of the communication means,
The communication means is provided to store a communication history with the in-vehicle device,
The vehicle-mounted device specifying means has a timing at which the vehicle-mounted device can communicate with the communication device when the vehicle-mounted device is mounted at the vehicle-mounted device mounting position obtained for each vehicle based on the determination result of the vehicle type determining device. 4. The vehicle road device according to claim 1, wherein a correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the vehicle-mounted device is associated based on a communication history stored in the communication unit. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising fraud processing means for determining that the vehicle is a fraudulent vehicle when the on-vehicle apparatus specifying unit cannot associate the correspondence relationship between the vehicle and the vehicular apparatus. A vehicle communication road device according to claim 1. The fraud processing unit determines that the vehicle is an unauthorized vehicle if the vehicle type information acquired by the communication unit from the in-vehicle device does not match the vehicle type determined by the vehicle type determination unit. 5. A vehicle communication road device according to 5. The vehicle on-road device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the on-vehicle device position determining means determines that the windshield position of the vehicle is an on-vehicle device mounting position . The vehicle road unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each means comprises a single microcomputer . A vehicle road unit for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A toll collection system that collects a toll from the owner of the in-vehicle device specified by the in-vehicle device specifying means.

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